Unappreciated?

Today I went to a workshop with school psychologists and social workers and someone brought up how we are unappreciated. The social worker complained about how she has done numerous social-emotional learning classroom lessons throughout the years and not once has a teacher or parent thanked her for doing so. This struck me as odd because I wouldn't expect to be thanked. It's not that I expect people not to pay attention to some of the things that I do, like classroom lessons, it's that I don't expect them to pay attention to it. (If you read the last sentence carefully, it make sense.) I've always considered this to be a thankless job. I don't need anyone to acknowledge it, and I don't expect them to. I have a feeling that if I were to wait for some acknowledgment for all that I do for kids, I would be waiting for an eternity.

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When Things Come Together

First thing this morning I had the two meetings that I mentioned in the last post. Both meetings went really well. I was amazed at how we were able to sit down and actually develop ideas on how to provide better services to students. I think we were able to change how one teacher views her role in the classroom. This particular teacher was hung up on the fact that her student wasn't turning in homework and his mother wasn't helping the situation. I told her that she had to let the homework go. There are more worthy battles to fight. I have often found it hard for people to realize that you can't always change behavior, but you can change how you react to it. I hope that the message sticks this time. My principal was pleased with the outcome of both meetings; it was her idea to have the meetings in the first place. If she's happy, then I'm happy.

On another note, I got a request for records from Nathan's mother. Now they are living in Vermont. We'll see how long that lasts. I'm expecting him to be back in my school by next year, it really is the next logical step.

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Tensions Running High

For some reason there were a few teachers who were a little high-strung today. I don't know if they all had rough days, rough weekends, the cold weather, or the fact that January seems to never end, but I was dealing with grouchy, stressed-out people all day. One teacher knocked on my door and came in to talk to me. That's always a sign of something serious, because teachers rarely have the time to actually knock on my door. The teacher told me that she had discussed the problem with the principal and she suggested that the information be shared with me. So I had one teacher complaining about her recent interaction with a mother and child. It's the old familiar tune of a student that isn't completing homework, mom thinks that the teacher doesn't care, and mom is doing everything she can to undermine the interventions and extra work that the teacher has put in place. This teacher wasn't that grouchy actually, more exasperated. As I was talking to her, there was a knock on my door and my principal walked in. This was a sign that she wanted immediate action. So she reiterated the case and requested a meeting of relevant staff soon. I looked at the schedule and she pressed for sooner, so I scheduled the meeting for tomorrow. She then asked me about an ongoing issue with a special ed teacher and a regular ed teacher. I didn't have promising news, so she demanded an additional meeting with those teachers after we meet on the first student. I had 2 new meetings scheduled in less than 2 minutes!

The other grouchy teacher run-in happened at the end of the day. I was at my mailbox and a teacher comes up to me and says, "I need help with this kid," then she proceeded to show me that the student's reading score hasn't changed since last May. My response was "At least he's consistent." I was treating it lightheartedly, which did not go over well at that moment. She became infuriated and stormed off yelling, "You know, I just can't get any help in this school!" I tried to tell her I was kidding and she's normally good-natured and full of sarcasm. I guess she was having a bad day.

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Nathan Epilogue

I just published the last Nathan post, I still had it in my drafts. It's fortunate that I didn't publish it because the story wasn't over. I guess the big move didn't happen, because my school received a fax from a school in a nearby town requesting records for Nathan. I thought he was moving to the Midwest, but I guess I was wrong. His mom entered the wrong school on the request form, which indicates her current state of mind, but at least he is enrolled in school. I think he's been out of school since the beginning of November. If he stays local, it's only a matter of time before he reenrolls in my school. My school should install a revolving door, it would make things easier.

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Snow Days

The kid in me loves snow days. There's nothing like waking up to a fresh coating of snow and seeing that school is canceled. On the other hand, when I have meetings scheduled on that same day it throws off my whole schedule. I am up to my ears in PPTs that haven't happened yet. I've had 2 snow days so far this year, and of course both of those days chock full of meetings.

I've had to make arrangements to have these meetings occur. I tried to fit some in next week, but they will only run into the other scheduled meetings. And the weather forecast for next week calls for another snowstorm.

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